This is another one of those projects that took longer to write up than to build.

The top facing controls on “trail-friendly” radios like the YouKits HB-1B and others are very convenient when you’re sitting on the ground out in the middle of nowhere. When operating “picnic-table-portable,” however, the display can sometimes be a little hard to read. For those situations, I came up with a little tilt stand using some stuff I had on hand.

Magnet applied to the corner brace.

The tilt stand I came up with has a grand total of two parts. First is a steel inside corner brace. You can find these at any hardware store. The one I used is 3/4-inch on each side and 1.5 inches long. You can use whatever size gives you the amount of tilt you’re looking for. The other item is a small but powerful magnet. The one I used is about the size of a nickel. I secured it to the corner brace using some Goop adhesive. To use the tilt stand, just use the magnet to put it on the bottom of the HB-1B, as shown in the pictures.

Tilt stand attached to the radio

This tilt stand works best when you have rubber feet on the bottom of the radio, as I have on mine. In fact, I added those the first time I used the radio, to keep it from sliding around on my desk.

Tilt stand in use

This little gizmo will a permanent part of my HB-1B portable station for those “picnic-table-portable” operations.

I purchased a set of Palm Mini paddles for portable operating a while back. I love the magnet base, which attaches nicely to the side of my little YouKits HB-1B transceiver. However, in some situations — like sitting on the ground or operating from inside my truck — that isn’t always the most convenient arrangement for me. Here’s a little hack I came up with to solve that problem.

I purchased an inexpensive 6-inch by 9-inch, acrylic clipboard at my local office supply store. I used some GOOP adhesive to attach two steel washers to the clipboard, as shown in Figure 1. I made sure that the washers lined up with the magnets on the base of the paddles. Figure 2 shows the paddles attached to the clipboard. Figure 3 shows the clipboard in use during a recent outing. For transport, the little clipboard fits in the small plastic container I use for the HB-1B and accessories.

Figure 3. Clipboard & paddles in use

For less than $2.00, this little accessory makes portable operating a bit more convenient.

I’m a big fan of the Jackite fiberglass poles for portable antenna supports. I have two of them have have seen a lot of use over the years. Here are a couple of quick and simple hacks that improve (in my opinion) on an already great product.

Keeping the Cap From Falling Off

While the overall quality of Jackite’s products is excellent, there is one thing that I find annoying — the caps have a tendency to fall off when transporting the pole. To overcome this, I attached a velcro strap to the cap (Figure 1). The Velcro is something I had on hand in my junkbox. It’s about 8 inches long by 1 inch wide. I used a #4 machine screw with some flat washers, a lock washer and a nut (Figure 2). I used an awl and a small phillips screw driver to make the hole in the cap. I then attached two Velcro strips (the fuzzy part) on either side of the pole (Figure 3). When transporting the pole, just secure the Velcro straps (Figure 4) and you’re good-to-go.

Figure 1Figure 2Figure 3Figure 4

Easy Extension

This quick mod might seem kinda pointless to some users. In fact, I hesitated about writing it up. Anyway, you be the judge:

Figure 5

In cases when I need to bungee or strap the pole to a fixed support, I would first need to extend the top-most section first. This is because the top section sits down inside the other sections when collapsed. What I did was attach a key ring (aka split ring) to the eyelet on the top section (Figure 5). The ring I used is approximately 7/8-inch in diameter. So, I can strap the collapsed pole to a support, remove the cap, reach in and use the ring to pull the top section out (Figure 6).

Figure 6

Again, you might not see the value in this one, but I find it helpful.

Here’s a neat idea I “borrowed” from my QRP buddy, Ed Breneiser WA3WSJ. When I need my Jackite pole to be self-supporting and I don’t have to carry stuff very far, I usually opt for my Jackite ground mount stake. It’s quick and effective but too heavy to carry on a hike. Not to mention the need for a hammer (or large rock) to drive it into the ground. So, in situations where the ground mount is impractical, I use a set of guy lines to hold the pole up. Here’s a simple way that Ed came up with for securing the guy lines to a 31-foot Jackite pole.

It’s pretty simple to build one of these…

Pick up a 2-inch, Schedule 40, PVC end-cap at your local hardware store. You’ll also need some nylon line. I used some 1/8-inch braided nylon rope from my local Walmart store.

Drill a 1.75-inch hole in the top, using a hole saw attached to your drill. When slid over the Jackite pole, the guy ring should rest on top of the bottom (largest) section of the pole.

Drill three evenly spaced holes around the outside of the end cap. Use a drill size just large enough to accept the size of line you are using.

Drill a second hole about 0.5 inch to the left of each of the three original holes. So, you should wind up with 3 pairs of holes around the end cap.

Cut three pieces of line. I made each of mine about 9 feet long.
Thread the line through the end cap holes, as shown in the pictures, and secure the end with a knot.

For the other end of each line, I tied a taut line hitch. This allows you to adjust the tension on each guy line.

PVC end-cap drilled out

My completed guying kit consists of the guy ring with the lines attached and four small plastic tent stakes. Everything fits nicely in a zip-lock bag. (I sometimes throw a lightweight, plastic mallet/stake puller in my backpack to drive in the stakes.) To use it, I drive in one of the tent stakes where the pole will go and three equally spaced tent stakes around it. Put these three tent stakes about 5 or 6 feet away from the center stake. Take the bottom cap off of your pole and place the pole over the center tent stake. The center tent stake should prevent the bottom of the pole from kicking out. Attach the guy lines to the three outer tent stakes and adjust the taut line hitches for the proper tension. That’s all there is to it.

Attaching the guy linesCompleted guy ring

I also built one of these for my 28-foot Jackite pole. For this pole, I used a 1.5-inch end cap. I used a 1.5-inch hole saw to make the large hole. The hole was a bit too small, so I did some filing on it to get the proper fit. The final hole size is approximately 1.6 inches. Again, the guy ring should rest on top of the bottom section. Everything else is the same as for the 31-foot pole.

Yep. That’s right. After maintaining my static website for many years, I decided to start a blog. While my existing website gets a fair amount of traffic, it’s just too cumbersome to add new content. So, most of my new content will be posted to this blog.

The old website will stay on the air but will see fewer and fewer updates (not that I have been making many new updates to begin with). A few items from the old website will probably find their way over here.